Honestly, I can't recommend any of the beaches. The one at Otres 2 was ok (the public beach between 1&2 is still lovely looking, water quality sucks though) but there's been so much development and land clearance behind Otres 2 that the river is pretty nasty now. When people ask I tell them to go to the islands. Guess I'll have to stop doing that once they build the airport and mega development there though.

@op , rents are down though and the Chinese food is great

The PPP article is from a year ago, and from my experience, at this time the canal was not closed off, waste was still flowing directly on to Sokha beach, and what they say here was not correct at the time of writing.

Do they have girlie bars with Chinese chicks there?

hunter8 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 12:24 am Do they have girlie bars with Chinese chicks there?

Yes, but my understanding is that they only serve one type of clientele. I could be wrong, it isn't my scene. There was a house a few streets over where a group of girls lived (not worked). I still have scars on my chin from walking by and my jaw dropping. Stunning doesn't come close to expressing it.

Well I'm officially staying as far away from Sihanoukville as possible.

Thanks for the advice and links that I wouldn't have found on my own.

Maybe I will look more into Kampot as alternative. Would someone be able to answer these even if it's just yes/no answers?

1 - Does Kampot river or Kep sea have e coli and bacteria, or can you swim in them without getting sick?
2 - Is the road safe to cycle from KAmpot to Kep? It's only 22km away so hopefully not a very dangerous road.
3 - Can you find rooms in Kampot for 250-300 per month?

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:59 pm They tested the E-coli count but the gauge exploded, the tester died of cholera and they had to close the lab for a year to decontaminate for the plague.
Some doctors came to give it the official OK (cos no negative results, or anything else, came outa the lab alive) but all their teeth fell out and they never got an erection agin, so they went away and never came back. Probably died,


Some people still go there tho'.
.

Otherwise ok though?

Doc67 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 10:46 am

SternAAlbifrons wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 11:59 pm They tested the E-coli count but the gauge exploded, the tester died of cholera and they had to close the lab for a year to decontaminate for the plague.
Some doctors came to give it the official OK (cos no negative results, or anything else, came outa the lab alive) but all their teeth fell out and they never got an erection agin, so they went away and never came back. Probably died,

Some people still go there tho'.

Otherwise ok though?

To be fair to Clemen, Kompong Som and the casino owners
This ^^ is a huge exaggeration. And things are apparently being put back into some order - in part. (hopefully)

Tips for avoiding E-coli and unidentified dead bodies floating inside the surf line.
- Dry season is best. Prevailing "offshore" wind blows foreign bodies (chuckle), out to sea. Including bacteria.
- Even in the Dry, a sea breeze comes up about midday and reverses this effect. Swim in the morning is best.
- Same with the tide. Tap into a tide chart and try to catch the out-going tide, if possible.
- Watch where the sewage and stormwater outfalls are. Avoid by as far as you can.
- Watch where the longshore current flows from those outfalls. The shit and germs can just flow along the swimming zone. Go "upstream" from the worst places.
- Avoid, like the plague, swimming after rain in any season. The shit off the streets is as bad as the sewage.
- Never swim in KS in the rainy season, is my firm recommendation. The water colour is a very good indication of why.

NB. Water clarity and colour are reasonable indicators, only.
If all those factors ^^^ are lined up - the water will look, and be, at its best. (relatively!)
Nevertheless, when shit/E-coli etc builds up in the whole local environment, you can still have very high counts of bacteria.
I would still go for swim down there - at the right place, and the right time of day. For sure.

SiemReapRoddy wrote: ↑Mon Jan 20, 2020 10:27 pm I heard recently that 10,000 Chinese have left the city never to return because China actually wants to force Cambodia to keep baning online casinos.

Does that mean it's easier to find decent priced accomidation in town?

I was trying really hard to decide between Siem Reap and Battambang, but it would definitely be nice to have access to a beach.

I don't really care about all the construction site garbage lying around. I'm just coming to live on savings and work in room almost all day, so I just need access to a food market and somewhere to run.

Any feedback?

Or it will just be one of those other towns and I'll use swimming pool at a hotel where you can buy lunch to use.

For swimming (not in a pool) and running, Kep is probably your best bet. Food/dining options are limited. Room for 250 is doable.
If you're looking for a pool to do laps, the longest I've seen in Kampot/Kep are only ~15m.